


champion eavesdropper

by enbylily



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boy-Who-Lived Neville Longbottom, Drabble, Dumbledore's Army, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, No Plot/Plotless, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), idk what this is, kinda because i felt like it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27189883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbylily/pseuds/enbylily
Summary: in which Harry overhears a conversation in the library between Ron, Hermione and Neville, and decides he wants to help them.kind of a random drabble i made, no real plot. not part of a series
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	champion eavesdropper

**Author's Note:**

> "Harry had been told his whole life not to ask questions. Harry had also grown up with Aunt Petunia, the nosiest person alive and incidentally a champion eaves-dropper."

Harry had been told his whole life not to ask questions. Harry had also grown up with Aunt Petunia, the nosiest person alive and incidentally a champion eaves-dropper. Watching Aunt Petunia crane her neck and tilt her ears in the direction of the neighbour’s houses everytime they had so much as a minor disagreement for years had not been for nothing, Harry mused as he listened carefully to the sound of whispering in the bookshelves beside him.

“Neville, we aren’t learning anything,” came the desperate voice of Hermione Granger. “And we aren’t going to, not with that old…”

“Hag?” suggested the voice of Ron Weasley. “Bitch? Toad?”

“Yes, thank you, for that colourful description, Ronald,” Hermione said. “As I was saying-”

“No,” Neville’s voice, this time. “I already told you last night- there’s no way.”

Harry frowned. It sounded like they’d been talking about Umbridge, based on Ron’s description. But what was Neville talking about?

“Please, Neville?” Hermione pleaded. “We’ll never pass our O.W.L’s with her teaching! And we- we won’t learn how to fight, either.”

“You won’t with me teaching, either,” Neville said, and Harry thought he understood what Hermione was suggesting.

“Come off it,” Ron said. “You’re good at defence.”

Harry raised his eyebrows. He liked Neville, but “good” was not a word he would use to describe Neville on the academic side of things, unless it was herbology. 

Neville snorted slightly. “I’m terrible and you know it. Just because of... well, what happened last year... that was luck. You know what Dumbledore told me, about the wand-”

“Shh!” Hermione whispered. 

Neville lowered his voice slightly, and Harry missed what he said next. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Ron murmured after a moment. “You’re not hopeless. You just-”

“-lack confidence.” Hermione interjected. “Neville, you’re the only one who’s actually faced him. Who could be better?”

“Someone who can actually do simple spells? Someone who can properly teach, and doesn’t mind about talking in front of more than two people?”

Harry froze, listening harder.

“And they’d probably want the basics of- I don’t know, something to ward off dementors? Does that even exist?”

“Yes,” Hermione said, her voice taking on the usual brisk, factual manner she used in class. “The Patronus charm. It’s meant to be very difficult, though. I haven’t tried it, and I don’t know any students who can do it…”

Harry had heard enough. Closing his book, he made his way around to the bookshelves where the three of them were standing. They all turned to stare at him, looking slightly shifty. 

“Sorry!” Hermione squeaked. “Er- are we in the way of…?”

“No,” Harry said quickly. “I er- I heard what you were saying.”

Neville’s face paled immediately. “Please, Harry, you can’t tell people, especially not-”

“Umbridge,” Harry finished. “Yeah, I know. Do you really think that low of me?” He raised his eyebrows. Neville flushed and looked at him guiltily. Harry continued; “I hate that old cow as much as you do. But if you don’t want people to go snitch, maybe don’t have these conversations in public?”

“Probably a good idea,” Neville said, sighing. “C’mon, let’s go-”

“Wait,” Harry said. The others all paused. “I er- The Patronus charm.”

“What about it?” Hermione said. 

“I can do it,” Harry said, looking her directly in the eyes. “I can teach you, if you’d like.”

They fell silent and stared at him, and then each other.

“Blimey,” Ron whistled eventually. “You can do it? Where’d you learn?”

“Lupin taught me,” Harry said. “Taught me in third year because of the- well, you know.”

Of course they knew- how could they not, when half the school had seen Harry fall 50 feet from his broomstick in the middle of a quidditch match?

“Wow,” Hermione said, looking impressed. “Um. So you’d teach us the patronus charm?”

“If you’d like,” Harry shrugged. 

“Well,” Hermione exchanged a nervous look with Ron and Neville. Neville shook his head slightly, but Ron nodded encouragingly. Harry raised an eyebrow. “Well,” Hermione said again. “It wouldn’t just be us.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, suddenly wondering if this had been the right idea.

“Well,” Hermione continued, “I might have asked a few other people if they were interested in... learning proper defence. I mean, because of Umbridge, and everything, and-” she glanced at Neville. “Because of... You-Know-Who being back.” 

Harry thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know if I’d be that good at… teaching a lot of people,” he said eventually. 

“Hold on,” Neville frowned, suddenly. “Why do you even want to?”

“What?” Harry asked, bewildered. “Apart from Voldemort being back? I think that’s a good enough reason, isn’t it?”

Ron flinched suddenly, Hermione winced, and Neville’s eyes widened in shock.

“What?” Harry demanded.

“You said his name,” Ron said uncertainly. 

“Oh,” Harry said. “Yeah, well. I’m not scared of him,” he hesitated slightly, then said, mostly to Neville, “You're not the only one whose parents were killed by him.”

Hermione gasped slightly, Ron paled. Neville’s mouth dropped open. 

Harry hadn’t told anyone what had happened to his parents, just always given vague answers about growing up with his aunt and uncle, without going into much detail. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Hermione said anxiously, looking at him with worry,

“Don’t be,” Harry muttered. “Just- think about it, yeah? I’ve never- I’m not going to pretend I’m a great teacher, but... I’m alright at defence.”

“Yeah, of course,” Ron said quickly. “Er- no pressure?” He smiled at Harry somewhat uncomfortably. 

As Harry walked away, he heard Hermione whispering- “I had no idea…”

Scowling, he left the library.


End file.
